Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-01-29
REAEARsINe. A BALLET.

Costumes In Every Degree of Dllapida-
tion-System Pursued at Milan.
Many q time have seen the ballet ut
its work under francesca, and have been
amazed at tho contrast between the
ballet in the morning and the ballet at
night. just imagine long, dark, damp,
low room, under the lobby of the
Academy of Music; the air is bad, redo
lent of beer and bad whisky, the place
serving as barroom at night and filled
up with sewer gas during the day. So
little light comes in through the gratings
leading to the sidewalks that half a dozen
Pickering gas burners are struggling with
the darkness. In one corner of the long
room sits little German pianist ham,
mering away at an old instrument which
has done that sort of duty for genera
ton. Perched on the piano sits Sig.
francesca, book in one hand and q
baton in the other. BY the side of the
piano sit two or three of the leading
dancers in street dress; they are there
simply to take their places as the central
figure in certain groupings. The rank
and file of the ballet stand in two rows,
quailing under the eye of the little sig
AAOAs <AAA0 ouOAA q AOb VA DNtlCClOM0b
In rehearsing a ballet the girls wear
the oldest ballet clothes that they possess,
with the addition of a sort of a jacket
which covers their shoulders and keeps
them from catching cold. Naturally,
these clothes-the tights, the gauze
skirts-have seen the hard work and the
dust of years and of many theatres, and
any one who has been behind the foot
lights knows that for dust and dirt there
is no place like q well seasoned theatre.
In the different costumes which the girls
wear, every degree of dilapidation being
present, the absurd discrepancies in figure
between them are more apparent than
when all are dressed alike and painted
up to the standard of ballet beauty. In
this damp gloom the fat woman makes
the floor tremble when she skips, and
seems twice as fat as when she comes on
at night in the last row, the ballet master
being careful to put her behind all the
others, while the living skeleton appears
to be more attenuated than usual, and
has dropped her stage smile for look Of
extreme discomfort with everything and
everybody. Now and then the latter
young creature draws from mysterious
pocket a flask which contains cough
medicine and takes sip of it between
the evoluti0ns of the ballet; two of the
girls have neuralgia or t0othache, which
requires them to tie handkerchiefs under
their chin with knot over their heads,
and in such guise they skip about in the
belief that the performance will reveal
them as a band of fascinating nyInphs.
s'Now, zen, says the little signor, and
the whole troop dances one way and then
the other, the girls form rings and dangIe
first one foot in the air and then the
other; they skip around the signor, who
represents Faust for the occasion, and
pretend to lure him away by their grace
full actions. But instead Of seeming fas-
cinated the signor scowls frightfuIly, and
insists that Mile. So-and-So would not
fascinate Hottentot unless she lifts her
right foot at least two feet higher, and
gri1ls as if she meant it, while thereupon
mademciselle takes fresh dose of cough
mixture, and nearly breaks in two in her
desire to please the signor. I have seen
Francesca work for nearly an hour irving
to get the ballet to posture in time with
the music. Invariably some Of the girls
would be too soon or too late in going
from one contortion to another, and the
whole effect was spoiled. Patience is one
Of the prime requisites Of the masters
art, and IL it was necessary the whole
ballet had to stay there until the thing Is
done. This part of the work, however,
Is never so trying to the signor as when
he has a number Of young men to drill.
The girls employed In the ballet have
usually been brought up to it and have
some ear Tor music, but what could be
expected of score Of young hoodIurns
picked ont Of the street, and promised 80
cents night to march as African war
riorsg II they had nothing to do but
march there would be no trouble, but IN
IL. .Africaine, for instance. these war
rioEz have to take part in the ballet. to
advance and retreat In time with The
music, and it took Francesca whole DAYS
to make the young men start and stop In
time. Yet at the end Of the work /
found him as good natured as ever, and
he would start the ballet with Now.
gentlemans in as sweet cone as II Il
was not the hundredth time that the
thing bad come to erieg,